Croydon Council has opened a new children’s home in partnership with St Christopher’s Fellowship, a charity that helps create brighter futures for children and young people in care.
The Council’s Children in Care Youth Ambassadors have been involved throughout the project, from co-producing plans and helping to choose the service provider, right through to influencing the look and feel of the home.
Across the UK, and particularly in London, there is a critical shortage of high-quality, affordable residential homes for children. To address this, the Council secured government funding from the Department for Education to convert an existing property into a children’s home, which will relieve pressure on budgets whilst also improving the experience of care and outcomes for children.
This new home will increase capacity for children with complex needs, making sure children in Croydon have the best possible chances. This supports Executive Mayor Jason Perry’s priority to make sure Croydon’s young people have opportunities to thrive.
The home will mainly provide short to medium-term support for children and aims to focus on helping children return to family life or move into local foster care, working closely with families and professionals to avoid long-term stays in care. It is part of a wider effort to keep children connected to their communities and support them close to home.
St Christopher’s provides children’s homes across London and various regional services including a significant fostering footprint, so that young people in care can maintain vital links to their community, instead of being moved to unfamiliar cities and towns. Many children are unhappy living away from family and friends and can have better outcomes when placed closer to home.
Lucellta Wallace-Esnard, Head of Children’s Services at St Christopher’s said: “The team and I are looking forward to working in partnership with Croydon Council to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people in care locally. We at St Christopher’s are passionately committed to improving young lives and excited about the opportunity to make a positive difference for the children and young people who will reside at the home.”
Javelle, one of Croydon Council’s Youth Care Ambassadors said: “We’ve come to the house today, and it’s literally what we asked for: the name, the colours of the walls, even down to the affirmations around the house to make a young person feel like they are needed in this life, to make them feel like they are enough, to be able to get to where they need to be… so I just want to say thank you to everyone that listened to us.”
Councillor Gatland, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “The input from our Children in Care Youth Ambassadors has been invaluable and together, with St Christopher’s, we have created something that will provide real value and impact for young people in Croydon.”
“We are working to become a more cost effective and efficient Council, putting residents at the heart of everything we do. To achieve this, we are listening to our young people and working with partners, so we can provide good quality care for those who need it most. This new children’s home is a great example of all these elements coming together and will give our young people the best possible chances to thrive.”
Executive Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry
